Kennewick man ruling – politics or science?

Native Americans called him "The Ancient One", while anthropologists speculated he could reveal who first settled the Americas.

Then, for over seven years, the skeleton of Kennewick Man became the subject of a court battle between the two parties, crystallising the debate over who should lay claim to ancient human remains and artefacts.

Last week, a federal appeals court finally granted scientists the right to study the 9200-year-old bones, against the wishes of a group of native American tribes, including the Nez Perce tribe of Idaho and those of the Yakama Indian Nation, who wished to rebury them.

But the ruling may actually be a triumph of politics over science, since Kennewick Man could be of limited value to anthropologists. The archaeological site where it was found has been destroyed, taking with it vital contextual information. And, while the skeleton has gathered dust, other potentially more important skeletons have been unearthed.

But the researchers say it is the principle of access to such remains that counts. "If we'd caved in on this one, it would have closed the door to research on other early skeletons," says anthropologist Rob Bonnichsen of Texas A&M University at College Station, a plaintiff in the case.

Unusual features

The skeleton hit the headlines in 1996 when it was discovered along the north bank of the Columbia river in Kennewick, Washington. Carbon dating revealed the remains were between 8340 and 9200 years old, the oldest found in the Pacific north-west - then thought to be the first part of the Americas to be colonised.

Anthropologists were also excited because the skeleton was 90 per cent complete and had unusual features differing from those of Europeans or modern native Americans.

However, tribal officials demanded that the bones be reburied, claiming they had a right to inter their alleged forebear under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. At the time, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), who managed the federal land where the bones were found, decided in their favour.

Eight scientists, including Bonnichsen, sued the federal government in October 1996 to block the reburial, and the case has been in the courts ever since.

Shortly after the discovery, a select group of government scientists were allowed to study the remains. They concluded that Kennewick Man's ancestors came from Japan, Polynesia or south-east Asia. Co-plaintiff Loring Brace of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, says, "I'd like to get my calipers on it," as he, like many others, is eager to compare it with other skeletons from the same period.

Concrete blocks

In the years since Kennewick Man came to light, however, several additional skeletons more than 8000 years old have been found, which also seem distinct from later populations. Most believe they came to the Americas from south-east, and then north-east, Asia at the end of the ice age, between 11,000 and 14,000 years ago.

It is not clear what Kennewick Man will add to this picture. "Until the research is done, you don't know," says Bonnichsen.

Although the skeleton remains intact, the site where it was found did not. In April 1998 the USACE dumped concrete blocks onto the site, supposedly to protect it from erosion, then planted trees. That is likely to have obliterated any archaeological evidence as well as any organic material that could be carbon dated to confirm Kennewick Man's age.

The bones were found after erosion washed away the river bank, so it is unclear whether they had been buried. A brief examination of the bank showed no evidence of any graves or artefacts, says geoarchaeologist Gary Huckleberry of Washington State University in Pullman. "The only material we found was historic trash."

But tribal opposition blocked him from digging to discover and analyse the stratigraphy the order and position of the layers of remains which is a vital element in understanding the skeleton itself.

Last week's decision upheld the ruling by the Ninth Circuit court in Oregon that the tribes had not clearly shown they are related to Kennewick Man, as required by the repatriation law. Either the federal government or the tribes could still appeal, but it is subject to approval by the Supreme Court which is far from guaranteed. No such appeal had been filed as New Scientist went to press.

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